The President of the Illinois Senate says he's pretty sure the budget showdown can be resolved before state services are affected.
Illinois's current spending plan expires at the end of this month, but there's no deal on a new one. Governor Bruce Rauner is still pushing his agenda, which includes pro-business laws and forcing legislators to limit their terms in office.
The Republican's ideas were not well-received in the Democratic-led General Assembly. Despite their differences, Senate President John Cullerton says progress is being made.
"So I'm pretty confident we're not going to have a shutdown,” Cullerton said. “I think we can reach some compromises with the governor on the areas he wants to talk about, once he understands the background of what we've been doing here in the past six years and the progress we've made. So I'm optimistic."
Cullerton says if there is no deal by July 1, he expects there will be one shortly after.
Democrats want to raise taxes so spending doesn’t have to be slashed. That’s something Rauner says he'll consider only if his platform gets through.
